Donation starts the Center's first faculty endowment, will aid in recruiting for humanities, social sciences and language-literature

HONOLULU — Republic of Korea Consul General Dae Hyun Kang presented a $250,000 check on Sept. 20, 2006 to University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Interim Chancellor Denise Konan as the first installment on a $1 million pledge by the Korea Foundation for endowed professorships. This pledge will be matched with funds to be raised by the Center for Korean Studies and the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, which is the university‘s private nonprofit fundraising partner, lifting the total endowment to $2 million.

This is the first endowment for faculty support at the Center for Korean Studies. When fully endowed, the fund will support the department chair as well as new tenure-track faculty positions in the humanities, social sciences, and language-literature departments at UH Mānoa. Visiting professors and postdoctoral fellows will also be hired as needed. Areas in need of Korea specialists include archaeology, art history, cultural anthropology, philosophy, pre-modern history, religion, theatre/drama, and traditional Korean literature. The endowment will be invested and the investment income will be used successively to pay salaries, each for an initial three years, for new faculty, usually at the assistant professor level. After three years, each cooperating department and college will assume responsibility for the salaries.

The Korea Foundation will complete its gift with three additional installments over the next three years. It is an independent organization affiliated with the Republic of Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs and supported by public funding and private donations. It was established in 1991 with the aim of enhancing Korea‘s image and reputation in the world through the promotion of academic and cultural exchange programs.

Fund-raising activities are being organized by the director and faculty of the Center for Korean Studies with the support of the UH Foundation, the dean of the UH Mānoa School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies, distinguished community leaders, and the Korean Consulate General. Fund raising will be launched in both Hawaiʻi and Korea. In Korea, fund raising will be conducted mainly through UH Mānoa alumni and an association titled the Friends of Korean Studies.

About the University of Hawaiʻi Center for Korean StudiesEstablished in 1972, the University of Hawaiʻi Center for Korean Studies is the oldest and largest Korean studies program outside of Korea. It supports and coordinates the activities of students and faculty with Korea-related teaching and research interests. The center has more than twenty faculty members offering courses and conducting research related to Korea in fields such as Asian studies, dance, economics, history, language, linguistics, literature, music, political science, and sociology.

About the University of Hawaiʻi FoundationThe University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is an independent, university-related, nonprofit organization whose purpose is to raise private funds according to priorities determined by the academic leadership of the University of Hawaiʻi and approved by the Board of Regents. Founded in 1955, the Foundation provides a full range of fund raising and alumni relations services for all 10 UH campuses. For more information on the Foundation, visit www.uhf.hawaii.edu.